Lighting fixture



May 31, 1932- N. 'r. THOMAS I LIGHTING FIXTURE v Filed Feb. 27, 1951 1 bC 3 :AH'HIIIKJ: wit-f I Nod/1 7' Thomas Patented May 31, 1932 UNITEDSTATES,

PATENT 0mm NOAH T. THOMAS, OF, WEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T0HARTFORD FAIENCE COMPAN Y, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OFCONNECTICUT LIGHTING FIXTURE Application 'filed Feb ruary 2?,"1931.Serial No. 518,764.

This invention relates to electric fixtures and has particular referenceto a llghting fixture of the type having an insulator wlth a chamber atits lower end and a recess leading upwardly from the chamber,'and a pairof terminals located within the chamber and having their spring contactfingers extending into the recess.

Lighting fixtures of this sort are partlcularly adapted for use instreet and road light- 111.

iighting fixtures of this sort have high tension insulators which aremoulded from an insulating material in a semi-plastic 0r putty-likestate and, in order to obtain a homogeneous insulator of of therequisite dielectric strength, it is preferable to form, during themoulding opera tion, the interior chamber and the recess by rotating thedie which'forms those spaces. In thus forming the insulators, theinterior recess at the top of theinsulator is made circular in crosssection. The terminals, which are adapted to receive between themselvesthe prongs carried by a socket member, are, for the most part, locatedwithin the chamber, and their springfingers extend into the recess. Thespring fingers are of strip construction and, owing to the fact that therecessis round, it is necessary to prevent the terminals from turning.Heretofore, there has been provided a sub-base of insulating materialand having a square opening to opposite sides of which the terminalsare'secured. This practice of providing a subbase of insulating materialis open to many objections which it is the object of the presentinvention to overcome. Among these objections and disadvantages may bemen tioned the cost of providing the sub-base; the danger of thesub-base cracking, it being usually made by a dry mold process; thedifficulty of assembling the parts, and the trouble involved inrepairing the fixture. The terminals have heretofore been secured to thesub-base and then the sub-base has been secured to the insulator. orporcelain head by separate screws, all of which requires considerabletime and expense. If it is desired uniform density and to renew one ofthe terminals, to entirely dis-assemble the sub-base.

The aim of the present invention is to provide an improved arrangementwherein the sub-base, together with its many disadvan tages, maybeeliminated while, at the same time, the terminals may be Very securelyand cheaply anchored in place without danger of their turning orbecoming cocked, one relative to'the other. With my improvedarrangement, a very material expense is saved,

it is necessary.

it being as much as fifteen (15) cents per head, and this saving, in theaggre ate, is very great as very large numbers of 'xture-s of this sortare sold each year. Also, by proceeding in accordance with the presentinvention, the parts may be more quickly and easily assembled and repairmay be effected with greater facility and in less time.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more indetail hereinafter,

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope ofthe application of which will be indicated in the appended claims. r

In the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown one embodiment which thepresent invention may take:

Figure 1 is a bottom view of the fixture;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section taken centrally therethrough,this view being taken subsantially on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is one of the seat elements for the terminals; 1

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of one ofthe terminals and shows the manner in which the terminal is connected tothe insulator body;

Fig. 5 is a view taken substantially on line 55 of Fig. 2 andillustrates the mann'er in which the flanges or lips of the seatelements engage in the recess in the upper portion of the porcelainhead; and r Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but taken on line 6-6 ofFig. 2. l 7 Referring to the drawings in detail, A designates aninsulator or headprovided with a cess and the chamber by secured contactfingers cap or top portion 10, a depending skirt or head is a chamber 13provided at its inner or upper end with a recess 14:. The upper or innerend wall of the chamber is designated by the numeral 15. This particulartype of insulator is shown by way of illustration only. As previouslystated, during the forming of this insulator, it is preferable to makethe re- 7 a rotating die and, naturally, the recess is circular in crosssection.

The letter B designates generally the terminals which are here shown asbeing of an approved and accepted type. Each of these terminals has alug member 20 to which is 21, in the present instance, two such contactfingers being provided on each terminal. These contact fingers are inthe form of copper strips suitably secured to the upper flatface of thelug. They may be secured to the lug by means of a hollow screw 22, asshown in the drawings. The threaded stems of the screws extend throughthe spring strips and are screwed into openings in the lugs. Theseterminals are secured in place so that the free ends of the springfingers extend into the recess 14: and are'in en- 'gagement with oneanother while the lower ends of the spring strips are horizontallydisposed, they being parallel to the end wall15 of the chamber 13.

The lugs are provided with the usual screws 23 for connecting the endsof the lead-in wires'to the terminals. The lead-in wires, which are notshown in'the present instance, extend through suitable openings 2 1 inthe skirt and openings 25in the lugs in a manner well understood in theart.

In accordance with the present invention, there is interposed betweeneach terminal and the inner Wall 15 of the chamber a seat element Gwhichis preferably in the form of a fiat block having an upstanding lip orflange at one end, this lip being of such dimensions that, when the seatelement is in place, the ends of the lip engage the periphcry of therecess 14, as shown most clearly in Fig. 5. The seat element extendsinto the recess 14 and it provides a straight edgeBl against which thespring fingers engage and about which the spring fingers are bent. Thestraight edge forms a chord with respect to the recess. If desired. theseat element may have", at each end of the straight edge, a lug" orear32'. These lugs or ears are spaced apart a distance slightly greaterthan the width of the spring fingers. These ears and the straight edge31 form a notch 33. These ears may be omitted. Each block is suitablyanchored in place asby means of a bolt 35, the head of which is anchoredin the porcelain insulator. In the present instance, the inner wall 15of the chamber is through the screws 22 and areprovided with nuts 38which engage against the lugs 20.v

The prongs 10 of the socket member are shown in cross section in Fig. 6.

It will be observed, from the foregoing description, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, that, when the parts are assembled, theedges 31 of thetwoseat elements are parallel to each other and arespaced apartthe correct distance. The bolts securely anchor theterminals and the seat members against vertical movement while theengagement between the lips 30 andthe perimeter of the recess 14prevents the seat members from turning about the bolts. The engagementbetween the flat strips and'the straight edges 31 of the seat elementseffectively prevents the terminals from'turning. When the seat membersare provided with the ea.rs 32, the latter further prevent turning ofthe terminals. These ears also hold the prongs 410 against movingedgewise and from cocking. Before the terminals are positioned in place,the spring fingers have generally the shape shown in Fig. 4-. When theterminals are assembled in the head, they pressagainst one anotherand'thus cause each other to bend somewhat about the straight edges 31. Theparts may be very readily assembled, it being merely necessary toposition a seat member in place, then position the terminal member onthe seat member, and apply a nut 38. Likewise, the parts may be readilytaken apart and one of the terminals may be renewed or repaired withoutdistur ing the other one. The main object of the invention, that is,economy in manufacture and assembly, is obtained to a'very pronounceddegree, it being apparent that each of the seat members, which may beformed of brass, can be cheaply made and there is no danger of thesemembers cracking orbreaking.

As many changes could be' made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this inven-' tion could bemade without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that allmattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the followingclaims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features ofthe inventionherein described and all statements of the scope of theinvention which, as a matter of language, might be said to falltherebetween. 1

I claim as my invention:

1. An insulator body having a surface with a recess opening thereinto, aseat element having one face engaging said surface and having a portionextending intosaid recess and adapted to engage the wall thereof wherebythe seat element is prevented from rotating, and a terminal securedagainst the opposite face of said seat element andhaving a springcontact engaging one edge of said seat element' 2. An insulator bodyhaving a surface with a recess opening thereinto, a seat element havingone face opposed to said surface and having a portion extending intosaid recess and adapted to engage the wall thereof whereby the seatelement is prevented from rotating, said seat element having an edgechordally arranged with respect to said recess and an car at each end ofsaid edge, and a terminal secured against the opposite face of said seatelement and having a contact strip engaging and bent over said edge.

3. An insulator body having a surface with a round recess openingthereinto, a seat element comprising a block adapted to engage againstsaid surface and having a lip extending into said recess, the oppositeends of said lip engaging the wall of the recess, and a terminal securedagainst said seat element and having a contact strip bent over an edgeof said element and extending into said recess.

4. An insulator body having a surface with a recess opening thereinto, aseat element having a face opposed to said surface and having a portion.extending into said recess and adapted to engage the wall thereofwhereby the seat element is prevented from rotating,

said seat element having a straight edge chordally arranged with respectto said recess, a terminal seated on said seat element and having aspring contact engaging and bent over said edge, and means for securingsaid terminal and seat element to said insulator body.

5. An insulator body having a surface with a round recess openingthereinto, a seat element comprising a generally flat block of metalprovided with an upstanding flange at one end, said block being adaptedto engage against said surface with said flange chordally arranged withing its opposite ends engaging the wall of said recess, the inner end ofsaid block having a straight edge chordally arranged with respect tosaid recess, a terminal having a, lug member and a spring contact strip,and means for securing said terminal and seat element in place with saidstrip engaging said straight edge.

6. An insulator body having a chamber with an end surface and a recessopening into said surface, a pair of seat elements oppositewith respectrespect to and hav-- ly arranged and each having a body portion adaptedto engage said surface andan upstanding lip at its inner end extendinginto and engaging the wall of said recess, and a terminal securedagainst each seat element, said terminals having opposed spring contactstrips bent over the inner edges of said seat elements and extendinginto said recess.

7. An insulator body having a surface with a recess opening thereinto, abolt carried by said insulator body extending from said surface, a seatmember engaging said surface and having an opening through which thebolt extends, said seat member having an edge chordally arranged withrespect'to said recess and a lug at each end of said edge, and aterminal having a spring contact strip clamped against said seat memberand bent over said straight edge and engaging between said lugs, saidterminal having an opening through which said bolt extends and a nut onsaid bolt for clamping said terminal and having one face engaging saidsurface and having a straight edge chordally arranged to said recess,said seat element having an opening; a terminal having a lug, a springcontact strip, and a hollow screw securing said strip to said lug, thehead of said screw being adapted to engage in said opening of said seatelement, a bolt anchored to said body and extendingthrough said hollowscrew, and a nut .on the end of said bolt engaging said lug.

9. An insulator body having a chamber with an end surface and a recessopening thereinto, a seat elementcomprising a block engaging saidsurface standing lip extending into and engaging the wall of saidrecess, said seat element having an opening and a straight edge, thelatter of which is chordally arranged with respect to said recess, alug, a contact strip interposed between said lug and seat element, a

and hollow screw.

NOAH T. THOMAS.

and having an up-'

